Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Fellowship

Overview

A Message From Our Department Chair

Residency training programs are the glue that brings together the best of clinical care and research in any academic setting. Service as educators and role models elevates the competence and professionalism of staff physicians – it improves the environment of care for our patients.

In 2016 we celebrate a milestone year, as our first class of residents in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation are welcomed to our Department. They will join over 1,500 residents and fellows at Cleveland Clinic, currently training in 65 different accredited residency programs and over 100 different graduate fellowships. Our hospitals are energized by this huge group of bright young people; they create an environment that is bustling, dynamic and fun!

The new residency program will grow during a time of unprecedented change for our Department. Our affiliation with Select Medical not only brings us beautiful new rehabilitation facilities, it brings us a formal relationship with outstanding academic PM&R faculties across the nation – sharing the best of rehabilitation science and training in the United States.

Our innovative training program, in development for 3 years, will come together thanks to the efforts and commitment of 44 Cleveland Clinic PM&R clinicians and researchers, along with the longstanding support and encouragement of our local colleagues at MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Veterans Administration Hospital. Over the last 90 years, hundreds of medical students, residents, and fellows have trained in rehabilitation medicine here. Now, our department will be proud to claim residents as "our own."

Program Details

Overview

Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Spine Health offers a unique opportunity to receive spine medicine graduate training through our fellowship program. At Cleveland Clinic, you’ll have the chance to work with some of the country’s best spine medicine physicians, rheumatologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons and orthopaedists.

Our orthopaedic surgery, rheumatology and neuroscience programs are consistently ranked among the top 10 in the nation and No. 1 in Ohio by U.S. News & World Report’s annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. Cleveland Clinic itself is ranked one of America’s top hospitals.

Cleveland Clinic’s large patient population means you’ll be exposed to a diverse range of spinal disorders, providing you with a solid educational experience that you won’t find elsewhere.

Objectives of the Fellowship

The goal of the Cleveland Clinic Spine Medicine Fellowship is to train broadly competent, non-operative specialists in the evaluation and management of the full spectrum of spine disorders. The unique integration of non-operative and surgical specialists within the Center for Spine Health provides fellows the opportunity to develop outstanding clinical skills grounded in an evidence based framework. Scholarly activity is encouraged and expected. Fellows are active participants in clinical research and writing.

Curriculum

Program Details

Rotation:
Spine Medicine fellows rotate through medical spine clinics, surgical spine clinics and an interventional pain management clinic, as well as a variety of electives and research experiences. The majority of fellow’s time is spent in medical clinics and interventional training and supplemented by surgical clinics, selective/elective experiences, and academic activities.

Curriculum:
Our fellowship will offer you the opportunity to study all aspects of spine medicine care.

Spine Medicine

Learn the clinical skills necessary for evaluation and management of a wide range of cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine disorders

Learn what role diagnostic imaging, electromyography, laboratory studies and diagnostic injection play in the evaluation of patients with spinal disorders

Gain experience in the interpretation of imaging studies, including MRI, CT, CT myelography and radiography

Gain experience in the use of therapeutic injections (e.g., trigger point and bursae injections and the use of fluoroscopy)

Learn the appropriate role of psychiatric pain management in the management of spinal pain

Gain experience in the use of the wide array of pharmacologic therapies employed in spine management, including analgesics, muscle relaxants, anticonvulsants, corticosteroids, and anti-inflammatory agents

Become familiar with the full range of active and passive physical therapy modalities available for spinal disorders

Be exposed to spinal manipulation techniques (manual medicine) and their role in the management of spinal disorders through clinic and twice monthly manipulation workshop/lecture

Be exposed to acupuncture or a useful modality in the management of spinal pain and associated symptoms

Requirements:
Applicants for the fellowship must have completed an accredited residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation, internal medicine, family medicine or subspecialty training in a medical specialty (e.g. rheumatology). All fellows must obtain an Ohio training medical license prior to beginning the fellowship.